Shooting Fallout – Is This What We Want?
April 26, 2007 by Anne Wayman
Filed under Jobs
Google news has almost 70 stories listed with headlines like “Massacre fallout: Charges for essay” and “High school senior charged after writing ‘disturbing’ essay.”
You can read the details but as I understand the story, a senior high school class in northern Illinois was assigned to write an essay that, among other things, was to communicate emotions. Eighteen-year-old, straight A student Allen Lee’s essay ended with a statement to the effect that some of the schools methods of teaching could lead to a shooting.
As a result, Lee was arrested after school and charged with disorderly conduct because his teacher was concerned and reported him to authorities.
As near as I can tell from the stories, Lee has had no history of mental illness or exhibited any of the other symptoms Virginia Tech’s shooter, Cho Seung-Hui demonstrated.
The actual essay hasn’t been released by police, but assuming the reporting of Lee’s ending statement are true, this is nuts. He stated his opinion; opinions are not threats. The essay was turned into his teacher as homework, not posted anywhere for anyone else to read. A representative from the ACLU said that homework is normally considered protected speech.
Although none of the news stories mentioned it, I can’t help but notice Lee is Asian and wonder if the teacher would have turned in a non-Asian.
I absolutely hate the fear that seems to be driving so much thinking these days – not just about school shootings, but about many other issues as well.
Franklin D. Roosevelt said it well, I think, in his first inaugural address:
So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.
Of course, we don’t have “a leadership of frankness” these days, which doesn’t mean we have to live and act in fear. And we don’t have to arrest students for expressing an opinion.
Write well and often,
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That’s so absurd! Our basic rights are being trampled on because of inane fears. What’s happening with our country?
While we use to live in a nation where the Declaration of Independence gave us the right to free speech, this right is no longer ours.
Well, the media has been “consolidated” and instead of serving as a watch dog on government, panders to what the corporate interests want, which seems to be fear. As fear builds, people become afraid to protest, opting instead for some illusion of safety.
Franklin said it: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
The real question is what will those of us who don’t want to give up liberty are willing to actually do.
We’ve got a little bit of a free speech concern of a different nature taking place in Indiana as well.
I have been following the story closely and the response by the school and the police seems inappropriate to me. The newspaper actually released some of the content of the student’s paper, in which he is talking about stabbing, mutilating, and shooting people, and also talks about drugs and drinking. The child needed psychiatric help, not a punishment. If they’d been more diligent in helping the Virginia Tech killer, he probably wouldn’t have killed anyone.
Angela, do you mean the essay from Lee in Indiana? If so, is there a link?
Hi there, I was actually referring to Allen Lee’s case in Cary Grove, Illinois. Here is a link to his essay: http://www.pioneerlocal.com/carygrove/news/361685,cg-leeletter-042707-s1.article
thanks…